


The King’s Champion and the King’s Prisoner

by vigilantesinthedark



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, But both of those can be seen as platonic, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Sam is alive AU, and I really need some Sam Cortland fluff, but I just finished rereading The Assassins Blade, don’t get me wrong I love both of those relationships too, one sided Chaol/Celaena and Dorian/Celaena, so it’s up to your interpretation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 14:28:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17582603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vigilantesinthedark/pseuds/vigilantesinthedark
Summary: A reimagining of the end of Throne of Glass.What if, instead of dying that night, Sam was captured instead and held in the dungeons below the Glass Castle?~Aka, an excuse for me to write absolutely self-indulgent, fluffy banter between Sam and Celaena and show these deadly assassins as lovesick idiots.





	The King’s Champion and the King’s Prisoner

**Author's Note:**

> This is set at the end of Throne of Glass, after Celaena ends things with Dorian and signs her contract with the King of Adarlan. 
> 
> (I know Sam was killed by Rourke Farran, but for the sake of this AU, he was captured and given to the king like Celaena was.)
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading my self-indulgent Sam fluff as much as I loved writing it.

Sam Cortland would admit that when the King of Adarlan first ventured down into the dungeons of the Glass Castle to personally greet him, he was a bit intimidated. Not that he’d ever admit to that. As the king spoke, he yawned and picked at his nails- already grubby from a night spent in the cell- in a way that would have made Celaena proud. 

“Now here’s what’s going to happen,” the king began. From that introduction alone, Sam knew he was going to be here- both in the dungeon and this encounter- for quite some time. “Everyone thinks you are dead. I’ve gone through great pains to get it that way. There was a body double, mutilated beyond the point of recognition, left for your pesky assassin friends to find, so understand this: Arobynn Hamel is not coming for you.” 

Sam didn’t think the king would care to know that Arobynn Hamel wouldn’t come for him if he did know he was alive. He and Celaena hadn’t left the Assassin’s Guild on good terms, even though Arobynn had taken everything from them. Celaena. Where was she? Was she in the dungeon too? If Arobynn was to come for anyone, it would be her, in the Guild or not. 

“You’re here and not dead because I want to play a little game,” the king continued, smiling as if offering to play chess with a friend. “Originally I wanted to send you to Calaculla and Celaena Sardothien to Endovier, just for some contrast, but that would be too inconvenient. You see, the point of this game is to see how one another’s death would break the survivor. Whichever one of you dies first will receive the news, and the body, of the other. After that, well, we’ll just see how much it ruins whichever one of you it is.”

“I’m confused. You said it would be ‘inconvenient’ if Celaena was in Endovier and I was in Calaculla. Why?” Sam needed to buy some time to get his thoughts together. If the king was open to questions- because what evil mastermind didn’t enjoy showing off his plan?- Sam could think. 

“It’s already going to be a two week journey to get your body to her or vice versa. Could you imagine how long it would be going all the way from Calaculla?” The king must have noticed the momentary lapse in Sam’s façade as he knit his eyebrows together in confusion. “Oh, did I forget to mention that? Yes, you’re not going to Calaculla, but Miss Sardothien is still going to Endovier.”

Celaena is going to Endovier. Celaena is going to Endovier. Celaena is going to Endovier. Sam couldn’t think of anything else. As he saw the king walking away smugly, he called out what he hoped desperately to be true. “Celaena is the toughest person I know, she’ll outlast all of us, even in Endovier.”

“That we shall see.” The King of Adarlan walked away. 

“Wait.” The king paused momentarily, but didn’t turn around. “If I die first, you won’t get to see the look on her face when she finds out. Bring her here where you can watch her suffer everyday. Let me take her place.” 

The king started walking again. “Let me take her place! LET ME TAKE HER PLACE!”

The next day, Sam couldn’t speak. His voice was gone from screaming, begging, pleading all night. 

~

Dungeon life wasn’t awful. Sure, the food was terrible and Sam was in an isolated section with no one in the cells around him, but it was the most peace he’d had in years. The guards were surprisingly alright. Captain Westfall was an ass, but after a year, he must have gotten a more important assignment, because he was never in dungeon duty. “He’s working the competition,” was all he was told, though no one would tell him what that meant. Other than that, most of the guards weren’t opposed to a little small talk. They often shared bits of castle gossip; after all, who was Sam going to tell? 

Things were as good as they could be for the circumstances. Until the day Lady Kaltain Rompier was placed in the cell next to him. Sam was immediately told her name, rank, how little she deserved to be here, and how she ended up here. All by her, seemingly not stopping for breath. The competition for King’s Champion was mildly interesting. 

“And then, it turned out that Dorian’s champion, Lillian Gordania, was not actually a jewel theif from Bellhaven, but Celaena Sardothien all along. Can you believe that? Adarlan’s Assassin under the same roof as the royal family.”

Celaena is going to Endovier. Celaena is going to Endovier. Celaena is going to Endovier. The all too familiar thoughts rang through his head. But no. Celaena is out of Endovier. Celaena is out of Endovier. Celaena is out of Endovier. “Kaltain, stop talking.”

“How dare you speak to me like-“

Two guards looked over at their cells because of her outburst. 

Sam lowered his voice. He refused to show how desperate he was, refused to give Kaltain anything to needle him with for the rest of their sentences. “Tell me what happened to Celaena Sardothien, now, or I’ll make you wish it was her in the cell next to you instead of me.”

“She won. She won the whole competition even though I drugged her because Perrington told me to, and-“

Sam couldn’t care less about the rest of the story. Celaena made it out of Endovier. Celaena won the king’s stupid game- both of them since both she and Sam were still alive. Celaena was here in the castle. He could see her again. 

~

She still had so wear a bandage around her leg, but otherwise, Celaena Sardothien was on her way to recovery. She was able to sneak around the castle undetected, which was becoming a new pastime of hers. She wanted to become familiar with every dark, shadowy corner so there were no surprises. And of course, if she happened to find a few new escape routes or vantage points for spying, she certainly wouldn’t be disappointed. 

Thinking about how she had signed herself away to be the king’s pawn put her in a fowl mood, so she decided to go exploring in an equally miserable place. The dungeons. Thankfully, she hadn’t spent much time there while in the castle, but that didn’t mean that there weren’t any threats down there. 

It was dark, damp, and disgusting. Celaena was glad she had opted for pants. She shuddered to think what Phillipa would say if she got dungeon muck on a nice gown. Most of the prisoners down here were so exhausted or malnourished that they didn’t even move as they saw her creeping by. Celaena was about to leave from boredom when she heard the high pitched whining. Lady Kaltain. As eager as she was to never see Kaltain again, she couldn’t resist the thought of rubbing the fact that she had won the competition in her face. 

Celaena approached silently, wanting to be fully in control. There was Kaltain, still complaining to the guard and another prisoner she couldn’t quite make out. Getting closer, it seemed the guard was Ress. Good, he was friendly and easily manipulated. Suddenly she stopped. She’d seen demons and ghosts in the past weeks, but never expected this. 

The prisoner looked like Sam. A much paler, thinner Sam, but Sam nonetheless. This couldn’t be real. Sam was dead. One of the few things she had been grateful for in Evdovier was that Sam wasn’t suffering the same fate. But he was here. She wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t noticed her back. His eyes widened and his mouth opened as if to speak. Celaena couldn’t draw too much attention, so she put a finger to her lips. 

“Hello Ress.” She smiled sweetly as if meeting him in passing in the hallway. 

Ress seemed surprised to see her. Good. Sam looking at her like she was the Great Goddess hadn’t given her away. “Celaena, what are you doing down here?”

“Well, I’ve started to feel better from the duels, and I was wondering if I could have a word privately with Lady Kaltain. There are a few things I’ve been itching to discuss with her.”

Ress chuckled. “As long as you don’t kill her, Celaena, I’m sure Chaol doesn’t need to find out.”

“Oh Ress, you know Chaol can’t get mad at me.” She was pretty sure Chaol had given up on trying to control her by now. 

“It’s not you I’m worried for,” he said, walking away. 

Once he was out of sight, Celaena dropped to her knees, not caring that she felt her bandages rip open. “Sam.”

“Celaena.” He crawled to the front of his cell, reaching to her through the bars. 

She grabbed the hand he reached out. “Sam, I’m going to get you out of here.” 

“Celaena.” 

“Is that the only word you know?” She was snapping, but her voice was just as tearful as Sam’s. 

“It’s the only word that matters.” He wiped at tears that would be denied to hell and back later. “How are you going to get us out?”

Her eyes sparkled as she held up the keys she’d taken from Ress and unlocked the cell. 

“Of course you did,” he laughed. But when he tried to stand up, he stumbled. Celaena caught him, as she always would. His legs must be absolute jelly after rotting down here for a year. 

“I love you.” 

They both said it at the same time, after not getting to for so long. Despite everything that had gone so wrong, it was a sign that the two of them might just be okay. 

“That’s very sweet,” Kaltain piped up from her cell, “but need I remind you that I’m still here, and will call the guards here.”

“You wouldn’t dare Kalatain.” Celaena’s mask, dropped for Sam, snapped back on. 

“And why would that be?” It was almost cute how Kaltain thought she was still in control. Like how Fleetfoot thought she was the one taking Celaena for a walk, not the other way around. 

“Because, Kaltain. I still have half a mind to do some unspeakable things to you for what you did to me at the duels. Do you really want to make me mad again?”

Kaltain was silent as Celaena helped Sam limp back to her rooms. 

~

Celaena was glad she had Fleetfoot sleep in the kennels on nights when she went exploring. She would have been barking up a storm, and the last thing she needed was to have any come asking questions tonight. She had gotten Sam to go take a bath by assuring him there was no way he would be getting into her bed without one. 

She sat on her bed, changed into a nightgown, inspecting the blood soaked bandage on her thigh. She couldn’t get any new bandages without calling a medic and getting found out about Sam. Sam, who, speak of the devil, walked into her bedroom just then. They’d gone past the laundry on the way up, so she had snagged him a tunic and pants. 

He sat down beside her as she wrapped the tunic she had worn earlier around the wound. “Care to tell me about how you got that? In fact, care to tell me about everything that’s happened since I last saw you?”

“I suppose I should start with how I took down Jayne after you- after you ‘died,’” she began, shifting them both to be laying down. It was a very long story, and she wanted nothing more than to hold and be held by Sam again. 

~

Chaol had heard how Celaena broke things off with Dorian, which was why he was surprised to see the Crown Prince at her door. Dorian, it seemed, was equally surprised to see him. 

“Do I want to know why you’re here so early, Dorian?

“Probably not, but if you must know, she said she wanted to remain friends, so I was going to join her for a friendly breakfast. What about you?”

“A set of keys went missing from the dungeons last night, and Celaena was seen down there.”

“That’s our Champion, causing trouble as always.” Dorian opened the door. “After you.”

Entering though the bedroom, the pair paused upon hearing voices. 

“Oh no, you are not getting out of my sight, ever again.” A male voice? 

“I’m sitting right next to you. What more do you want? Me to sit on your lap and feed you?” Celaena’s voice was obvious, and full of a rare fondness. 

“Well I certainly wouldn’t complain.”

“You’re lucky I love you.” Love? Celaena speaking of love? 

“I’m lucky you love me? You’re lucky I put up with you.” 

Dorian and Chaol looked at one another and proceeded into the dining room. They stopped dead in their tracks as they saw Celaena sitting in the lap of a young man and feeding him from a plate on the table. She laughed and smiled deeper than either had ever seen. 

The man saw the two of them first, and wrapped his arms protectively around the assassin. She didn’t even bristle at the touch. Usually she would snarl that she could defend herself. But here she was, letting this mystery man guard her. 

“Celaena, were you expecting guests?” The man’s face was cool and collected, but his eyes were wild, angry, dangerous. 

She turned, relaxing whe ln she saw her friends. “Sam, this is Dorian Havilliard, Crown Prince of Adarlan, and Chaol Westfall, Captain of the Royal Guard. Chaol, Dorian, this is Sam Cortland. To what do we owe the pleasure, gentlemen?”

“Sam?” Dorian froze. Celaena had said this Sam was dead. How was he here now? Was this why Celaena had ended things between them? “The Sam you spoke of that night?” That would explain Celaena talking of love as if she truly believed in it. 

Sam’s arms tightened around her and his glare intensified. Celaena noticed without looking at him and put a hand on his, though she tended up as well.

Chaol broke the tense silence. “A set of keys was taken from Ress last night. I don’t know if you happened to know anything about that.”

“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about.” She raised her chin in defiance, maintaining as much innocence as she could. 

“Really? Then would you care to explain what an identical set of keys is doing on your table?”

“Getting sloppy, Sardothien,” Sam teased, tucking his face into her neck. 

“I’m so sorry that you were my priority last night.” 

They started to bicker as if they were the only two in the room. Chaol coughed awkwardly to remind them of his and Dorian’s presence. The prince spoke. 

“How you two ever got reputations as terrifying assassins is beyond me. You’re so loud anyone could hear you coming for miles.”

“Clearly a summer in the Red Desert with the Silent Assassins did nothing to Laena’s smart mouth.” Sam smirked his infuriating smirk, and she returned the favor. 

“The vows of silence were optional, may I remind you.” Sam had been the one to bring it up, but it still seemed best to tread carefully when talking about that summer. 

“And we clearly know what option you chose.”

Well, if he was going to be an ass about it. “Oh, so you’re saying that you would have been able to keep a month of silence.”

Sam sensed the challenge in her words. “I would have preferred it to the time at the mercy of Arobynn, worrying about you every day. Although the memory of you taking down the Pirate Lord did help keep me warm on some very cold, beaten-to-shit nights.”

“I would have thought the memory of him destroying my face that first night would have made that memory a little less hot.” She frowned, remembering how her face had been bruised for months. 

“Laena, you’ve never looked more stunning than when you were getting pummeled to hell while three assassins held me back. Except maybe when you were vomiting your guts out after drowning in the sewers.” She elbowed him, enough to hurt, but not enough to bruise. He did just get out of the dungeon, so she could be nice for a bit. 

Chaol broke away from being transfixed by their banter, shocked by how casually they described the cruelty they received from their master. “You’ve trained under the Mute Master and Arobynn Hamel, and yet you say I’m an ass as a trainer?”

“Sam and I provoked him,” Celaena stared Chaol down. He knew she spoke in jest, but also knew how quickly those eyes could turn deadly serious. “You just loved tormenting me.”

“And to be fair, it’s no just your behavior as a trainer. You weren’t sunshine and rainbows as a prison guard either.” Sam knew he was playing a dangerous game, but still edged further. 

All humor drained from Chaol’s eyes as he realized that Celaena hadn’t just stolen a set of keys. She’d also stolen a prisoner. 

“Celaena.” 

Dorian had caught on too. “Did you help a prisoner escape the dungeons under the castle?”

Celaena’s eyes narrowed, and Dorian could feel the room tense. 

“Technically, all records have me being dead because your father is a sadistic basket case who loves playing twisted games.” If Sam was hesitant to talk badly of the King of Adarlan while in his castle, it didn’t show. “So if anything, she stole me back from the dead.”

Celaena picked up where he left off. “The only evidence you have would be Kaltain’s word against mine. Ress happened to find something in his drink this morning that made him forget all about the encounter.”

The line between the Celaena that Dorian and Chaol had come to know and Adarlan’s Assassin were blurring. Her posture shifted ever so slightly to be on the attack, though she still lounged casually on Sam’s lap. 

“But, as long as you both understand the fact that neither of you will interfere with Sam being here or any plans I may or may not have to get him to safety, we won’t have any issues, will we?” 

Dorian and Chaol nodded so fast that their heads almost flew off. They both knew that Celaena was going to be an absolutely terrifying King’s Champion. 

“Good.” She gestured to the chairs across the table. “Now that that’s out of the way, would you like to join us for breakfast?”

The four sat and ate. Celaena didn’t move from Sam’s lap, but the two moved independently in sync. It was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. They told stories as if they had the same brain, telling and adding in things the other forgot, and more snark than anything. 

~

After a few hours, Chaol and Dorian retreated from the room. Once they were gone, Celaena whirled back around to face Sam. 

“You’re jealous,” she accused. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Sam replied, having full idea what she was talking about. 

“You called me ‘Laena.’ You only call me that when you want to show off to someone that you’re closer to me than they are.”

They leaned into each other, neither faltering. Eventually Sam sighed, leaning back in the chair. “The first time I heard anything about you being here, it was from Kaltain, and the way she was phrasing everything made it seem like you were infatuated with the prince. I didn’t want to think you were, but you seemed so comfortable with him, and with Chaol, that-“

Celaena leaned in and kissed him to get him to stop. 

“Sam, firstly, Kaltain is a liar, and I hate her more than Lysandra. But more importantly, anything that was or might have been with Dorian, I broke off. Adarlan’s Assassin and the Crown Prince. Could you imagine?”

He could, all too vividly. “And the King’s Champion and one of his prisoners is so much better?”

“No,” she smiled, and his heart sank. “But Celaena Sardothien and Sam Cortland is. I’ll choose you Sam. Over Arobynn Hamel or Dorian Havilliard or anyone else in this world.”

His smile met hers. There was so much they still had to figure out. What their next steps were, how to keep him hidden, how to get him out of the castle, what to do after that. For now, they were back in each other’s arms, and that was enough. Because she chose him, and though he didn’t say it, he chose her.


End file.
